Sheriff’s program targets church safety

For the first time ever, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office will offer a safety and security training workshop for places of worship.

Kirk Taylor

The training will be offered at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center free of charge on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Retired U.S. Marshal Tina Lewis Rose will lead the workshop.

The workshop will offer information and inspiration on the subject of active shooters.

“This will empower them,” Lisa Shorter, spokeswoman for the PCSO, said. “They’ll walk away with some actual documents that help them think about policies that they can develop or procedures they can develop based specifically on their facility.”

Shorter said those in attendance will be encouraged to look at their facility from a security aspect.

“For instance, they’ll look at what doors are locked and aren’t, how to talk about the potential for an active shooter and things they can do to keep themselves from being a target,” she said. “There will be a lot of operational stuff and general security tools.”

Shorter said it wasn’t any one thing that gave the PCSO the idea to conduct this workshop.

“Active shooters pick their targets carefully and history has proven that attacking a church during services earns them attention,” Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor said. “Knowing what to do in these situations is critical to saving lives and we are glad to bring this level of training to our community members.”

Shorter said although the workshop is being offered, churches in Pueblo are not naive about their security.

“A lot already have procedures in place,” she said. “This workshop will introduce it to the ones that don’t and enhance it for the ones that already do.”

Close to 50 people have signed up so far for the training.

“We have people coming from churches and even little chapels you see at hospitals,” Shorter said. “It’s exciting to see this level of participation and the idea that people will be able to walk away with tasks to enhance security.”